Given the likely impact of the coming U.S. DATA Act on access to federal spending data, and continued development of federal “open data” programs, I wanted to “pick the brain” of someone for whom data and metadata standardization is a “meat and potatoes” business.

We see how the current web of licensing agreements is hobbling cable TV operators as they find themselves having to compete more and more with web based streaming services. Isn’t it also possible that similar restrictions regarding health data and metadata might provide similar challenges to creating new and beneficial products and services from shared data?

Government regulators need to be sensitive to the costs of complying with and overseeing the regulations they impose on data management, as do the organizations that are regulated. Costs related to data oversight, quality control, standardization, security, and privacy all need to be considered in comparison with the quantitative and qualitative benefits that will be generated.

These days, still, when you read about big data or if you attend conferences or webinars you’re much more likely to read about products and tools. You don’t hear as much about “back room” management issues you need to address to make sure all the members of the project team are sharing information and marching in the same direction.

While it may be inevitable that all government data collection efforts have to tighten their belts, hopefully the process of making tough prioritization decisions will be done in light of rational factors such as the value of the data to users, the cost of collecting it, the availability of alternatives, and the manner in which data management processes are governed.